FARMER 



Publisked by John B. Russell, at JV*e. 52 North Market Street, (at the Agricultural Warehouse). — Thomas G. Fessendek, £A7or. 



VOL. YIII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1830. 



No. 5L 



(©©sasawsr a©Asa©sr39 



FOR THE NEW ENGI.ANl- FARMEK. 



ON MANGEL WURTZEL, &c. 



Ma Fessende>' — In your Now England Farmci- 

 of the 25tli iust. is a piece inakinfj some iiic|iiiric's 

 about Mangel IVurtzel. Having cultivated it, on a 

 considerable scale, li»r as mucli as fifteen yean- 

 past, during that period I have never known it to 

 be attacked by the Cabbage Louse. It has always 

 been siiliject to be cut oft", from one quarter of an 

 neh to one inch imder ground by the white 

 rub, of the Cockchaffer bug Scarabmus mdalonlhn, 

 this insect is well described in the first volume 

 of the New England Farmer, page 102.) We 

 lave, generally, not thinned out our plants, till the 

 'oots have become from one third to half an inch 

 n diameter lest our crop should be too much thinned 

 'ty them. 



This year for the first time to niy knowledge, 

 ;hey have been attacked by the black Cabbage 

 ^rub, which cuts off the leaves above the crown of 

 he plant. Some recover from this attack. I have 

 lad to replant, to fill many vacancies destroyed by 

 hem ; and if these should be cut off, I intend 

 fill up, by transplanting ruta baga, any time be- 

 ore 20th July, previously loosening the ground 

 rith the hoe. I have found the best method for 

 estroying these grubs, is to plough, (or dig if in a 

 arden and throw into ridges) as late in the fall as 

 ossible, sny last of November or early in D.,c€ni- 

 er, which throws them near the surface, and if 

 •ost soon takes place, prevents their getting down, 

 ut of its way. I also think a good dressing of 

 nie or ashes, (only harrowed or raked in, to be 

 ept near the surface,) will have a good effect, in 

 becking or destroying almost all the insects that 

 isturb our crops. 

 Last year I had about one quarter of an acre 

 f cabbages, that were very nearly covered with 

 le Cabbage Louse ; I took off the outside leaves 

 JBnd burnt them. Having a few gallons of very 

 ing tobacco liquor (left after sheep shearing) 

 irh I diluted by adding Soap Suds from the 

 sh, I sprinkled the plants very thoroughly 

 oni a garden watering pot ; I believe it killed 

 ery louse, for I did not discover one afterwards, 

 d never had a better crop. 



I have lieretoforc succeeded very well (in sca- 

 ns of light crops of grass) by breaking up im- 

 ediatcly after mowing, such lands as were in- 

 nded to be broken up in the fall, and scattering on 

 reel sweepings, leached ashes, or any fine man- 

 and harrowing it in — then sowing with a 

 ill ourcomnion flat turnip seed, which with once 

 jeing, and thinning by being in rows, is very little 

 bor ; and generally produces 250 to 400 bushels 

 roots an acre. Corn broadcast or in rows, or 

 illet, are also very good late crops for fodder. 

 I have cultivated for several years the Sugar 

 eel, it is subject to the same attacks as mangel 

 urtzel, and requires the same culture. I do 

 t)t think it yields as many bushels an acre, but it 

 eighs 3 or 4 lbs. per bushel more; and for its very 

 ccharine quality, I think it quite as valuable a 

 they are both much better for milch Cows, 

 Ian any of the turnip or cabbage tribe. And re- 



quiring so very much less labor than carrots, (un- 

 less when the labor of children can be had to weed 

 and thin them,) I should not cultivate the latter 

 largely. 



The Ruta Baga or Swedish Turnip, 1 find to he 

 very subject to being destroyed by the Cabbage 

 i Louse, and on the whole must give the preference 

 I to mangel wurtzel and sugar beets for feednng 

 I larin stock and swine. 

 , I am. Dear Sir, yours, very truly, 



JOHN PRINCE. 

 Jamaica Plains, 29th, June, 1830. 



INSECT IN PEAR TREES. 

 Thomas G. Fesse.\den, Esq. 



Ml/ Dear Sir — By the keen eyed vigilance of a 

 friend and neighbor, Mr Henry Wheeler, I am 

 enabled to fm'nish you with the Scolytus Pyri, de- 

 scribed by the late Professor Peck, as the insect 

 destructive to pear trees — one of which is in the box 

 accompanying this. The branch, which I also 

 send, contains others, whose escape is prevented 

 by closing the orifices with wax. They are now 

 perfect and ready to take their flight. They were 

 dc|)Osited in the head branch of a young and vigor- 

 ous St Michael tree, to which the injury was con- 

 fined. The twigs severed had all the progressive 

 symptoms of decay. It is probably owing to my 

 having examined my trees in the quiescent state 

 of the enemy, that I have not discovered its char- 

 acter in its line of march ; and that I was iiicred- 

 ••' us jespectinij so vast a destruction bcin^ caused 

 by an insect which had eluded an attentive search. 

 This demonstration has made me a convert to the 

 doctrine. In examining some dead limbs on a Bon 

 Chretien, since this discovery, I found merely their 

 last year's encampment, I am happy to state, that, 

 so far as my observation has extended, the fora- 

 ging party has left the country; and the injury 

 visible is caused by the stragglers of the rear guard. 



I write in great haste, furnishing matter for your 

 conniientary. With great regard, your friend and 

 servant, O. Fiske. 



Worcester, July 1, 1830. 



Remarks by the Editor. — We are much gratified 

 by the receipt of the above favor, and the more so 

 because some have doubted whether this insect 

 could have been the cause of the mischief gen- 

 erally attributed to it. Many have heretofore 

 sought after it, but it has generally eluded detection. 



The late Professor Peck published an ac- 

 count of this insect in the Massachusetts ."Vgricul- 

 tural Journal, vol. IV. No. 3, from which the fol- 

 lowing is extracted. 



' For several years past the ends of the branches 

 of the Pear tree have been observed to perish sud- 

 denly, insomuch that it has been attributed to light- 

 ning. Mr Lowell, believing that it was caused by 

 insects, on examining the dead part of the branch 

 proved the correctness of his judgment. — He pre- 

 sented ine one of the insects, with a |)art of the 

 branch, which contained it in its perfect state; 

 which is the cause of this commimication. 



'The branches atta-'ked by this insect are known 

 by their leaves withering and turning brown. 

 This happens in June or July ; the insect has then 

 passed through its pupa or ohrysalis state, and 

 acquired its perfect form. As it is only after it 



has arrived at tliis period, that it can continue the 

 species, it is probable that it deposits its eggs be- 

 fore the month of August is i)asscd. The egg is 

 probably deposited behind a bud, i. e. between the 

 bud and the stem, and is hatched soon after ; the 

 larva or grub eats its way inward through the sap, 

 into the hardest part of the wood. 



' The piece of a branch which I had, was three 

 years old ; it had, therefore, one layer of sap and 

 two of wood. The grub had eateu the inner lay- 

 er of wood, a part of the medulla or pith, and 

 about half of the second layer of wood, in a cir- 

 cular direction, leaving the alburnum or saj) wood 

 untouched except at its exit. 



' The genus to which this insect belongs is call- 

 ed scolytus. Of this genus it is an nndescribed 

 species. It is precisely .^^ or y^^g- of an inch in length, 

 -^^ in diameter ; of a deep brown color, the legs 

 and antenna; paler and of a rust color ; the tho- 

 rax in front is rough with small tubercles which 

 point upwards, and is studded with erect bristles, 

 as are also the elytra or wing-cases and other |)arts 

 of the body. The elytra are striated and slightly 

 impressed points, and between the scries of points 

 are rows of bristles: The plane of the anterior 

 opening of the thorax, which receives the head, is 

 nearly at right angles with that which joins the 

 abdomen, so that the head is entirely underneath. 

 The eyes are oblong, and the antennas inserted at 

 their lower and anterior edge. — The species may 

 be called Scolytus Pyri.' 



' The miscnevous eiTocts of this iDinute insect 

 are observed in June and July ; the dead part 

 of the branches of the pear tree should be imme- 

 diately cut off and burned without delay, as the 

 insects have not then left thevn.' 



Although the insect above described is no doubt 

 one of the causes, it docs not follonv that it is the 

 sole cause of the sudden and premature decay of 

 pear trees, &c. ' Blight,' says Loudon, ' is a com- 

 mon term for injuries received by the vegetable 

 kingdom, when in a state of growth, which i^an- 

 not be referred to any obvious or certain cause, 

 and coming suddenly, is said to give them the ap- 

 Ijcarance of being blighted or blasted.' Some 

 writers attribute the sudden decay of the pear tree 

 to the scorching rays of the sun. Others imagine 

 that warm weather in winter or early in spring, 

 sets the sap in motion, which subsequent cold 

 weather arrests, and causes it to stagtiate and be- 

 come corrupt in the pores of the alburnum. Oth- 

 ers arc of opinion that manuring too high, and 

 pruning too much, causes the tree to die of a ple- 

 thora, or surfeit. The remedy, however, is not a 

 subject of so much dispute. In all cases of blight, 

 the only cure or palliation of the disorder is found 

 in sawing off the affected branches some inches 

 below where the blight appears. 



BRINE APPLIED TO PEAK TREES. 



Mr Fessenden — This spring, in the early part 

 of April, I took strong brine of Pork and Beef, 

 which had been accumulating for more than a 

 year, and init it round two Pear trees ; round one, 

 ten pailsfull. This was an old tree (St Michael's) 

 which had not grown any for several years, and 

 on which there had not been any Pears. This 

 year, many of the branches have grown eight or 



